Memory - 2 Flashcards
Under what condition do memory traces remain in the white matter?
-WM with repeated rehearsal (i.e. attending to the information
What are the two types of memory interferences?
- Retroactive interference
- Proactive interference
Describe retroactive interference
- New information interferes with the retention of old information in WM
- (trying to remember your old phone number, having used your new number for a few months; finding it difficult to revert back to manual gear changes having recently been shown how to use an automatic)
Describe proactive interference
- Old information interferes with the recall of new information
- Mistakenly giving your old phone number instead of your new one; attempting to change gears manually in a newly bought automatic
What is the primary-recency effect?
-When presented information in serial order, we remember more from the beginning and end of the list, at the expense of the intermediate items
What determines the strength of memory?
-Depth of encoding
What are the two types of processing?
- Shallow
- Deep
Why is deep processing better than shallow?
-The greater the processing the meaning of stimuli at encoding the deeper the level of processing and greater likelihood of later storage and retrieval.
How is information transferred from working memory to long-term memory?
- Rehearsal
- Elaboration - taking information you already have and expanding on it
What is the capacity of long-term memory?
-Large
How long is long term memory stored for?
-Storage can be for a few minutes, but in theory can be for a lifetime
What is storage into long-term memory also known as?
-Consolidation
Describe what occurs in consolidation
- Involves structural change
- The pattern of neural pathways are changed
- Long term potentiation: strengthening/destruction of synapses, believed to be the cellular foundation for memory
What is a clinical use for LTP?
-Treating dementia
What organic aspect does consolidation require to be effective?
-Requires metabolic activity for minutes/hours after stimulus has been presented
What region of brain plays roles in consolidation?
-Hippocampus
What is the consequence of removing the hippocampus?
- Hippocampus removed
- Can recall existing memories
- Issues consolidating new memories
How does cue aid the retrieval of information?
- (e.g. prompt, reminder, question)
- Original stimulus reconstructed using information from cue
- The more information available, the easier the retrieval
- For example, sbas in exams, easier to recall when posed with possible answers
What else apart from cues aid retrieval?
- A good ‘filing system’ also aids retrieval
- e.g. mnemonic’s (memory aids, Method of Loci)
- Make something personally relevant to you and you’re more likely to remember it
What can retrieval be affected by?
-Interference
What is the tip of tongue phenomenon?
-Where you encounter stimulus, you’ve encountered it before you just don’t know what it is
What are the 3 factors that affect retrieval?
-Levels of Processing
The more something is elaborated at time of encoding, the easier it will be to retrieve
-Organisation
Of concepts in memory (also, associations between concepts stored in LTM may facilitate recall)
-Context
Being in the same place/emotional state as the time of encoding facilitates recall- state dependent memory
What is state dependent memory?
- Context where you learn info and how you were feeling
- You are more likely to retrieve something when you are in same location you learnt
- More likely to retrieve if you are in same emotional state as you were when learning
- Biological, so if you go on a madders and get peppered
Describe the experiment they did for for State dependent memory
-Divers learned words on land and underwater – recall was best when the learning environment matched the retrieval environment.
What is declarative knowledge also known as?
-Explicit memory
What is declarative knowledge?
- Memory for facts, for information that can be conveyed by statements
- Involves conscious recollection of events / facts
- Encompasses semantic and episodic memories
- e.g. Your birthday
What is non-declarative knowledge?
- Generally doesn’t involve conscious recollection e.g. procedural memory
- Implicit memory
- Priming
- eg driving a car
What is priming?
- Phenomenon where you get someone to think of certain thing next by priming them beforehand.
- if you think of bread, then butter jam etc
- works based on association
What is crucial feature of procedural memory?
-Often in absence of conscious recollection
What are two forms of declarative memory?
- Semantic memory
- Episodic memory
What is semantic memory?
- Memory of facts
- Meaning of words like DOG
What is episodic memory?
-Memory for events, situation
like morning breakfast
Describe the decline in episodic memory
-Decline over time however decline is not uniform over all memories
What is the reminiscence bump?
- Surprising perseverance of memories occurring between ages of 10 and 30
- Alot of new things happen then, first kiss, love etc first job
- After this, its not new or rememberable
- Novelty is memorable because of the lack of proactive interference from previous learnings
- More evidence for reminiscence bump for positive than negative memories
- decrease in neuroticsm, brain favours positive more than negative
What is a flashbulb event?
- Detailed and extremely vivid memories regarding circumstances surrounding very shocking event e.g. September 11th.
- survival purposes
- Emotional arousal during encoding enhances retention
- Also retrieve easier if talked about more
